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Creo IQ Smart 2 or 3 workflow

I'm going to have access to one of these (not sure if its a 2 or 3) while I am in Chicago teaching my class for 6 weeks and want to get some serious scanning done. I have worked with one of these with a good technician looking over my shoulder but that was a couple of years ago. This time I will be completely on my own. Any tips?

Thanks,
Kirk

at age 65
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep"

Re: Creo IQ Smart 2 or 3 workflow

Originally Posted by Kirk Gittings

I'm going to have access to one of these (not sure if its a 2 or 3) while I am in Chicago teaching my class for 6 weeks and want to get some serious scanning done. I have worked with one of these with a good technician looking over my shoulder but that was a couple of years ago. This time I will be completely on my own. Any tips?

If you have not already done so get a copy of the instruction manual for the oXYgen scanning software and read through it to familiarize yourself with the basic operations. oXYgen is similar to the software for the Jazz, but more powerful because it allows DT (high bit) saves. The institution where the scanner is housed probably has the manual on a .pdf file.

You might also consider fluid mounting your negatives. It is super easy to fluid mount on a flat bed scanner and there are a number of tutorials you can read about this. All you need is some Kami fluid, a pack of think mylar, and some tape (blue masking tape works well for this). You don't have to worry about focus point with the IQSmart scanners as with Epsons because there is automatic focus.

The maximum optical resolution of the IQSmart 3 is about 5500 dpi but you probably don't need to scan at more than 4000 dpi to pull all of the information out of a 4X5 negative.

Re: Creo IQ Smart 2 or 3 workflow

Kirk, I'm not sure if you're going to scan in the DT mode or scan for a specific output. I scan specifically for output. If you are doing B&W I have found that the best B&W results with the least fuss is to scan 16bit RGB positive using the Tri-Gray input. It still uses all 3 colors to produce what appears to the eye as gray and will appear as a negative which you'll need to invert. I also find that I get a better result when I keep the tonal range between 5 and 250, and when I'm outputting LVT's between 5 and 240 (highlights).

Wet mounting will make a huge difference when it comes to sharpness, scratches and grain. Make sure though that the scanner does not have the AR glass on it as the mounting fluid can damage it. The way you can tell is that the AR glass has a coating, and the regular AN glass, which you can use for wet mounting, has that fine etched surface. If it's an IQ 2 it most likely has the regular AN glass.

Re: Creo IQ Smart 2 or 3 workflow

Originally Posted by Kirk Gittings

Thanks Brian. How do you personally deal with capture sharpening?

I sharpen as little as possible during the scan. Off the top of my head I use red channel and the lowest custom settings, almost none at all. I do not use the presets as I find they over sharpen. Of course it all depends on how high a res you are working.

Re: Creo IQ Smart 2 or 3 workflow

Kirk,

I second Brian's and Sandy's comments. I have an IQsmart 2; it is a terrific scanner and produces great files. I find that an additional benefit of scanning B&W using the OxyGen's RGB mode is that I have better control of the Black/White endpoints compared to the B&W mode. This is critical in getting the maximum tonality out of the negative and into the file. Fluid mounting is very easy with this machine - it was clearly designed for it. Make sure you set all of your configurations, with Oxy sharpening off, as a preset. The software has a habit of reverting to a default pre-set with scanner sharpening enabled. I agree with Brian that the scanner sharpening is overdone - my guess is that it was probably designed for newsprint/graphic applications.